Sensex up over 200 pts, Nifty above 8200; Infosys gains 2%

9:55 am Time to take off: Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture airline Vistara tonight announced the launch of its operations from January 9 with flight from Delhi to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The full-service airline, which is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, opened its bookings at 22:30 hours tonight. With Delhi as its hub, Vistara will initially offer flights to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the airline said in its statement late tonight.

Vistara will operate 148-seater Airbus A320-200 with 16 seats in business class, 36 in premium economy and 96 in economy. Phee Teik Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said,”I am very excited as this day is the culmination of many months of hard work. “The activation of distribution channels is our first interface with our customer and with this, we embark on a journey to fulfil our brand promise of seamless travel experience. I would like to especially thank our partners for helping us put our best foot forward and most importantly the members of Vistara team for their diligence and resolve all this while.”

9:40 am FII view: The global sell off is over for the time being and there could be a relief rally towards the end of this month, feels Geoffrey Dennis, Head of Global Emerging Market Strategy at UBS. He says the problems in Russia are unlikely to have a major impact on the global economy in 2015. Markets currently offer a good medium term buying opportunity, and while it is tough to call a bottom, Dennis says he would certainly not take a bearish view.

According to Dennis, Russia’s debt to GDP ratio is not too high and it has a good buffer of forex reserves. Hence the probability of a sovereign default is minimal. However, some companies and banks in Russia could be in trouble and may have to be bailed out. Still this is unlikely to impact the global banking system. Dennis is bullish on India and says the recent correction should be viewed in the context of the global market turmoil. He sees 2015 as being a challenging year for emerging markets as the Fed is likely to hike rates sometime in the middle of the year.

9:22 am Market Check: The Sensex is up 208.90 points or 0.8 percent at 27335.47, and the Nifty is up 59.85 points or 0.7 percent at 8219.15. About 1017 shares have advanced, 183 shares declined, and 32 shares are unchanged.

The market has opened higher. The Sensex is up 166.08 points or 0.6 percent at 27292.65, and the Nifty up 51.00 points or 0.6 percent at 8210.30. About 686 shares have advanced, 94 shares declined, and 15 shares are unchanged.

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Infosys, Wipro, BHEL, Axis Bank and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Bharti Airtel, ITC, HUL.

The Indian rupee gained further in early trade. The currency has opened at 63.05 a dollar, up 6 paise compared to previous day’s closing value of 63.11 a dollar. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity says the rupee is expected to trade weak as overnight, the dollar is trading strong which will keep rupee under pressure. “The range for the day is seen between 62.70-63.50 a dollar,” he adds.

S&P 500 index capping its best two-day gain in three years as global equities rallied on the Federal Reserve’s pledge to be patient on boosting rates. In Europe, shares closed sharply higher with global sentiment boosted after the US Federal Reserve said it had confidence in the economy.

In Greece’s first round of a snap presidential election, the prime minister’s preferred candidate failed to gain 180 votes he needed to win. The second and third round of voting will take place before January 2015.

Asian stocks are higher following positive US lead. Nikkei is up 1.5 percent and is getting support from a weaker yen. Traders are also awaiting the Bank of Japan’s last policy decision for the year. The central bank is widely expected to keep monetary settings unchangedBut reports suggest that freshly re-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning a significant stimulus package to the tune of around USD 30 billion, which should help the Nikkei to extend gains today.